by JM Stewart
It didn’t take long. Just the thought of him had made her so hot a few flicks over her engorged clit pushed her over the edge. Her orgasm tore through her, a luscious, hot bubble that burst inside of her. She massaged through every blinding pulse, determined to make it last as long as possible.
When the luscious spasms finally subsided, she collapsed back onto the bed and opened her eyes, lying there a moment, limbs deliciously heavy, while attempting to regain control over her breathing. The shadowy ceiling came back into focus, and the quietness of the house seeped around her.
The unbearable loneliness crept up right behind it. The way it always did. The one thing missing in this scenario was the warm, masculine body against her side. She longed for the pleasure to have been shared and for strong arms to hold her while she slept, and their lack left an emptiness deep inside.
Now, staring up at her ceiling, all she could see were the similarities between her and Mary. Mary had been a sweet woman with a heart of gold. She’d given Lauren a good life and had made her feel loved. But Mary had never been willing to take risks, had never put herself out there. And then she’d died alone, never having found her true love. What if Lauren ended up the same way?
Determination expanded inside of her. She pulled her hand from her panties and moved into the attached bathroom. After relieving herself and washing her hands, she strode down the hallway and into the kitchen. There on the counter sat the notepad she wrote her grocery list down on. She pulled it close, grabbed the pen beside it, and started making a list of all the things she’d never done but had always wanted to.
1: Lose my virginity
She paused, frowning down at the pad. Accomplishing number one would require finding the guy first, though.
Her conversation with Mandy two evenings ago came flooding back.
Go talk to Karen and decide for yourself, she’d said. You shouldn’t lose your virginity to some jerk you meet in a bar.
Mandy was right. If she really wanted to lose her virginity, she needed to put herself out there.
She turned back to her list, making another note.
2: Call Karen at Military Match.
* * *
Lauren eyed her image again in the full-length mirror beside her dresser. A week had passed since she’d made the decision to call Karen at Military Match. Tonight was her first date. Turned out Mandy was right. Talking to Karen had all but made the decision to sign up easy. The woman had impressed her. Karen had a firm vision for her business, one with her clients’ needs at heart.
Over the last week, as she’d waited for tonight to arrive, she’d also added a few more things to her list. She wanted to make out with a guy in public, and she wanted to get drunk. Just once. After all, wasn’t that what college kids did? She hadn’t, and she wanted to know what it felt like.
She’d also made a decision about tonight’s date. She had every intention of checking off a few items from that list, and if she was doing this, then she was going all in. Tonight she was going to seduce her date. Have a hot fling for the first time in her life with a decent guy.
She’d need help, though. She hadn’t a clue what to wear, and she was so nervous she couldn’t stand herself. So she’d called Mandy and Steph for help. She’d planned her entire day so that she wouldn’t have to worry later. She’d gone to the bakery extra early this morning to make certain all their orders were filled and the shop’s shelves were packed. She’d left Lauren’s Chocolates and Pastries an hour earlier than usual, so she’d have extra time to fret over what on earth to wear.
When she got home, Steph and Mandy waited on the porch, arms loaded. God bless her best friends.
Now, an hour later, Mandy had taken care of her hair and makeup. Steph had brought over the wardrobe. Mandy, at least, hadn’t gone over the edge. She’d dolled up her usual perfunctory makeup and forced her to take her hair out of the ponytail she usually kept it in.
Steph, however, had gone completely crazy. Tonight’s outfit was something Lauren wouldn’t normally have been caught dead in. The zebra-striped blouse Steph had chosen lay open down to the button between her breasts. The V of the thin black sweater overtop was cut almost to her belly button. The black jeans at least she was comfortable with, but they were tighter than she would have preferred.
She turned to frown at Steph in the glass’s reflection. “Are you sure this is the right look for tonight?”
“You’re just lucky I decided to let you wear jeans and not that skirt I brought over.” At Lauren’s frown, Steph looked up, meeting her gaze in the mirror. “You want to get laid, right?”
“Yes, but…” Lauren eyed her reflection again. As a divorce attorney for a local firm, Steph was the more adventurous and confident of their trio. She had no qualms about wearing something formfitting and low cut, and she had the perfect hourglass figure to pull it off. Lauren, however, had always been tall and gangly and just this side of awkward. She’d never worn something so risqué.
“Uh-uh. No buts.” Steph frowned in admonishment. “If you want to get laid, babe, you’re going to have to leave behind your schoolmarm wardrobe. I still think you should’ve gone with that skirt instead of these jeans. Show a little cleavage and a little thigh and he’ll be following you around like a lost puppy.”
“We’re just meeting for coffee. It’s not like we’re going to a club or anything. That skirt was way overdone.” And too damn short for her tastes. “You realize I’m going to break my ankle in these heels, right?”
The heels were gorgeous, and they did make her legs look awesome. She felt sexy. Her and heels, though, had never gotten along well. More than likely she’d trip over the sidewalk and fall flat on her face. As usual.
“Well, you look smokin’ hot.” With one last small adjustment to the thick brown leather belt around Lauren’s waist, Steph smiled in satisfaction. “You’ve got a great body, hon. You just need to learn how to show it off.”
And that right there was the flaw in her little plan. She wasn’t comfortable baring her assets to the world the way Steph was. She had too many memories of watching her mother get dressed for one of her dates. She eyed her reflection again and sighed. But wasn’t stepping out of her comfort zone the whole idea of this?
Mandy appeared beside her in the mirror and looped an arm around her shoulders. “He won’t know what hit him.”
Knowing that, however, did nothing for the nauseated sensation swirling in her stomach. She had one too many memories of guys promising to call but never actually doing it. If she didn’t hurl on her date’s shoes or fall flat on her face, it would be a miracle.
* * *
Trent Lawson paced the sidewalk along the windows of the Starbucks. He scanned the street around him as he walked, his heart hammering from the vicinity of his throat. For the first time in almost twelve years he had a date.
This wasn’t where he’d seen himself the day he married his now ex-wife. Wasn’t where he’d seen himself when he’d come home eighteen months ago with his shoulder blown out, his leg in pieces, and his mind scattered to the wind, either. Hell, he still wasn’t a hundred percent. He was still healing, still getting a handle on his PTSD, and his triggers were everywhere. Just last week the pop of a child’s toy gun had sent him into a tailspin. He’d hit the ground before realizing it wasn’t real. He still woke most nights covered in sweat from nightmares about the brutal things he’d seen overseas.
How the hell could he support someone emotionally when he was still drowning himself? But he missed the warm body beside him in bed at night. So here he was, standing in front of a coffee shop, divorced and waiting on a woman whose name and face he didn’t know.
That was supposed to be fun part of the dating service he’d signed up with a month ago. He’d gotten the name of the place from one of the guys he worked with. Gabe Donovan and Marcus Denali co-owned the custom bike shop where he worked. Fellow SEALs, the guys had become his good friends since he started there six months ago. Who else but a fell
ow vet could possibly understand his aversion to large crowds and loud noises?
Gabe and Marcus had a firm business rule: they only hired vets. A month ago Gabe hired Mike. Mike was army, and his wife, Karen, owned the premier matchmaking service Military Match. Which was how he’d come to find himself here. Mike could talk the Pope into going to a strip joint and had convinced Trent to give Military Match a try.
When he’d woken in the hospital a year and a half ago, he’d promised himself he’d do everything the guys who died that day in the desert couldn’t—he’d live his life. He wanted…Hell, he didn’t even know. To date. To go out and have a little fun. Getting laid might be nice.
Everything he currently wasn’t doing, which was why he’d signed up with Military Match. It went a long way that the place had a good reputation. They took care of the arrangements, and you simply showed up. And it was only coffee. Not drinks or a big, fancy dinner, so there was no pressure. It still meant he had a blind date, though.
He dragged a frustrated hand through his hair and turned to scan another direction. He was supposed to be keeping an eye out for a brunette wearing blue. The problem was, a dozen brunettes had passed him since he’d arrived ten minutes ago. On top of that, it being a spring evening in Seattle, it was barely fifty degrees out and, of course, drizzling. How was he supposed to see what she wore when everyone passing him all wore coats and hats? Unless his date showed up wearing a freakin’ sign on her chest, he hadn’t a clue how he’d recognize her.
She could be any one of the women seated at the café’s outdoor tables.
Hell. He’d no doubt keel over before she ever got here.
He turned again to pace the other direction when a sight stopped him cold. Twenty feet away, a woman stood at the other end of the building. Hands tucked in the pockets of her black coat, she seemed to be waiting. Her head moved as if she scanned the crowd around her. Although he only had the back view of her, he’d long since learned to recognize the slender length of her body.
It was the curve of her tight little ass, however, that sealed the deal. He’d spent the last year trying not to notice how incredible that ass looked in a pair of worn jeans. Never mind that the ones she was wearing right now were fitted to her body, showcasing incredible curves.
Lauren Hayes. His heart hammered as his gaze zeroed in on the peacock-blue scarf peeking out from beneath the collar of her coat. Like a neon freakin’ sign, it shouted at him.
Shit. If she was his date tonight, he was screwed. Lauren was his baby sister’s best friend, not to mention she was ten years his junior. That made her strictly off-limits. He’d known her long enough to watch her go from a gawky preteen into a beautiful woman. He hadn’t noticed exactly how beautiful until after he’d come home. After she’d spent hours at his place, cooking for him, helping him clean…and forcing him to get up and live.
God. What the hell would Mandy say if she found out he had the hots for her best friend? Hell, who was he kidding? She’d probably be happy he was at least dating someone. Not that he intended to give in to his attraction. She was still off-limits as far as he was concerned, which meant whatever he felt for her would be quashed.
Telling himself that didn’t stop his gaze from caressing the curve of her ass again, though. Or his cock from leaping in his jeans, reminding him how long it had been since he’d last had sex. Not quite two years. He and Wendy had made love the night before his last deployment. Six months later he’d gotten her Dear John letter, telling him she’d fallen in love with someone else and she was leaving him. The price of being married to a Navy SEAL who was often gone for ten months at a time had been too high for her. He’d come home in pieces to divorce papers waiting for him.
He eyed Lauren again. Shit. He couldn’t stand here all night gawking at her or he’d never find out whether she was his date or not.
He approached from behind and leaned his head over her shoulder. “Fancy meeting you here.”
She started and whipped around to face him, eyes wide, but wobbled on her four-inch platform heels and pitched sideways. He grabbed her elbow to help steady her, and her hand caught the lapel of his jacket, gripping it tight. When she steadied herself, she let out a sigh of relief.
He chuckled and darted a glance at her shoes. “You’re going to kill yourself in those things.”
She furrowed her brow and swatted his arm, but the corners of her mouth twitched. “Because you scared the hell out of me.”
“Sorry. Saw you standing over here and thought I’d come say hello.” He let his gaze trail over her, taking her in from head to toe. “I was going to ask if you were just leaving the shop, but clearly you have a date. You look great.”
Lauren was a button-down shirt and worn jeans kind of girl. He’d never seen her in anything quite so revealing. Her top hugged the contours of her slender shape, the low neckline teasing him with a view of her cleavage but not so much she spilled out of it. It was all he could do to keep his eyes on her face. That was more of Lauren than he’d ever seen.
“Thanks.” She released his jacket and glanced down at herself. “I feel ridiculous in these heels. They’re Mandy’s, and she insisted they’re sexy, but damned if I can walk in them.”
He scanned the length of her legs, from the shoes up. “She’s right. Those heels on you are sexy. That top is stunning.”
Her gaze snapped to his, eyes wide and stunned. Yeah. He shouldn’t have said that, but a soft flush rose in her cheeks, and her lashes fluttered as she diverted her gaze to the ground. A worthwhile reward for having said far more than he ought to. Lauren could be bold as brass when she wanted to be, but sometimes, like now, he caught sight of a more innocent side of her.
That softer side drew him like a bee to a bright yellow flower. That natural innocence made her shy, and he’d long wondered what it would take to bring down those walls. Who she was when she wasn’t holding herself back. He’d bet his every last dollar that behind her shy facade lay the heart of a passionate woman.
He darted a glance around. “So, where’s your date? He didn’t stand you up, did he?”
The flush in her cheeks deepened, and she let out a heavy sigh. “I wouldn’t know. He could be standing behind me, for all I know. I have a blind date. We’re supposed to meet here, and I’m supposed to be looking for someone in blue.”
His heart stuttered to a stop. Son of a bitch…
He tucked his shaking hands in his pockets and prayed, somehow, it was only a coincidence that they were in the same place at the same time…waiting on dates wearing blue. “Let me guess. You weren’t given his name, only a vague description. You were told where and when to meet, and to wear something blue so he’d recognize you.”
Her brow furrowed, those big brown eyes searching his in confusion. “How did you…?”
He swallowed a miserable groan. Fate was a cruel bitch. “And the woman who set you up, her name was Karen?”
Lauren’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Yes….”
Of all the women to find himself set up with. Though he couldn’t be sorry it was her. If he had to spend the evening with someone, it might as well be someone he was comfortable with. And he was comfortable with her. When he’d come home in pieces a year and a half ago, he’d wanted to be left the hell alone, to heal and deal with his shit on his own.
His mother and Mandy would have none of it. They’d insisted on caring for him, refusing to let him sit and wallow. Lauren had offered to help and had become part of the almost daily routine. She’d brought him meals, things she’d taken the time to make from scratch. Despite that he’d bitten her head off more than once, she’d sat with him. Sometimes she’d babble at him, filling him in about her day or complaining about the ceaseless rain. Sometimes she sat with him in silence, watching TV with him.
He couldn’t pinpoint when exactly his feelings for her had changed, but she’d become a friend. One he treasured. Just being near her soothed his ragged nerves.
All it meant was he had
a date with the one person he shouldn’t touch with a ten-foot barge pole. He wasn’t sure he’d healed enough to handle everything that came with a relationship, and Lauren…deserved better.
Now he had to tell her he was the date she’d been waiting for, and he hadn’t a damn clue how to break the news to her. So he stuck out a hand and winked. “Hi. Trent Lawson. I believe I’m your date.”
Chapter Two
Lauren clenched her jaw to keep it from hitting the pavement. For a long moment, she could only stare at Trent’s outstretched hand. Was he serious or playing a cruel joke? The light blue color of his buttoned-up shirt suggested he was telling the truth. Her date was supposed to be wearing blue. But the color was common for this type of shirt. It could just be a coincidence.
Except Mandy had mentioned that Trent knew Karen. What Mandy distinctly hadn’t told her, though, was that Trent had signed up with Military Match, too.
She lifted her gaze to his. “You’re my date?”
Trent dropped his hand and glanced at the sidewalk, going silent for a moment. He’d changed since coming home. He’d always been a man of few words, but that side of him had grown since he’d gotten out of the service. He often drew into himself, as if his mind had wandered. Part of his PTSD, Mandy had told her once.
That wasn’t all that had changed, though. The military crew cut he’d worn for almost forever had grown out. His hair was now long enough to run her fingers through. He also seemed to be keeping a day’s worth of growth on his jaw. Scruff looked good on him. The black leather jacket, however, he’d had since she’d first met him. It was well-worn and soft.
